Browns lineman says Brian Hoyer is 'a lot like Tom Brady'

Brian Hoyer is a 28-year-old quarterback with three NFL regular season wins to his name. When Tom Brady was 28 years old, he had three Super Bowl rings. Hoyer is playing on a two-year, $1.97 million contract. That would barely cover the moat costs at Tom Brady’s $20 million mansion. But both are AFC quarterbacks with five letters in their last names and that basically makes them the same person, according to Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Joe Thomas, who made the debatable comparison to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

“[Hoyer is] a lot like Tom Brady. When you look at the way he competes and the way he demands the most out of everybody around him, it’s no coincidence that those guys played together. He has a lot of those same mental attributes [as Brady] and that’s a great thing for a quarterback to have.”

(USA TODAY Sports Images)

If there’s anyone on the Browns roster qualified to speak about talent, it’s Thomas. He’s a four-time All-Pro and has made the Pro Bowl in each of his seven NFL seasons. He’s played for quarterbacks ranging from mediocre to awful. He should know when he finds a keeper. Thomas also wasn’t saying that Hoyer will become Tom Brady, just that Hoyer’s work ethic, swagger and attitude is reminiscent of the New England Patriots great.

None of that matters though, because the only soundbite people will remember is “Brian Hoyer is a lot like Tom Brady.” Thomas’s main reasons — attitude and the fact that Hoyer backed up Brady for three years — are fine, but if that were the case, then Matt Cassel, Kevin O’Connell, Matt Gutierrez and other Pats backups should have been stars too. Corey Dillon would also be like Tom Brady. Charlie Weis would be a Hall of Fame coach because he used to sit next to Bill Belichick at team meetings.

But let’s get away from the Hoyer-Brady thing and look at the bigger picture: When Thomas says Hoyer is the greatest thing since Brady’s feathered hair, there’s the underlying implication that Johnny Manziel isn’t. Even if unintentional, that’s the subtext. Browns management is using the same tactics — act like Manziel isn’t the savior everyone expected him to be. None of it makes sense.

(USA TODAY Sports Images)

What’s the strategy here? This isn’t a Brett Favre/Aaron Rodgers situation where you take a guy to be the eventual successor. Hoyer is sort of young. Manziel is younger. The Browns moved up in the draft to get Johnny Football. If they didn’t want to play him immediately, then why bother?

The Browns are seemingly waging mental warfare against Manziel. Forget the now-antiquated tradition of taping rookies to goal posts and making them sing songs at team meetings. Is the new hazing treating players like they doesn’t exist? Are the Browns trying to break Manziel? (If the start blasting Van Halen loudly into his dorm room, we’ll know for sure.) This isn’t to say Manziel should be the Week 1 starter or that the Browns should defer to all things Johnny, it’s just odd that they’re treating the player they desired like he’s unwanted, unappreciated and decidedly un-Brady.

Brian Hoyer is a 28-year-old quarterback with three NFL regular season wins to his name. When Tom Brady was 28 years old, he had three Super (…)

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